Washing machine with improved valve means



April 6, 1965 a w. L. SHELTON 3,176,484

WASHING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED VALVE MEANS Filed May 22, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 5 a 9 55' KB 53 2 721. O n

O 0 O 0 O O o 0 O O O O 0 O O O O Q o o o o J O O O 0 l o o 0 i 23 I g I H INVENTOR. a! wms'rou 1.. suaurou W WW H \s ATTORNEY April 6, 1965 w. SHELTON WASHING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED VALVE MEANS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 22-, 1963 F'IG.2

INVENTOR. WINSTO N L. SHELTON m ATTORNEX April 6, 1965 w. L. SHELTON 3,176,484

WASHING MACHINE WITH IMPROVED VALVE MEANS Filed May 22, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I as F IG. 5

INVENTOR.

L. SHELTON WWW H \S ATTORN En! United States Patent 3,176,484 WAfifEJG MACIWE WITH IMPRGVED VALVE BEANS Winston L. Shelton, .Iefiersontown, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed May 22, 1963, Ser. No; 282,464 8 (Ilaims. (Cl. 68-196) This invention relates to clothes washing machines, and 1 more particularly to the water inlet valve arrangement provided in such machines.

The design of automatic washing machines, in combination with the plumbing codes generally in force throughout the United States, have heretofore led most washing machine manufacturers to provide an inlet valve structure in their machines in a particular way. This has usually included provision of the valve secured at some point removed from the immediate vicinity of the liquid containing receptacle of the machine, together with means leading from the valve to the liquid receptacle. This kind of arrangement, while satisfactory in operation, is somewhat expensive. 7

It is an object of my invention, therefore, to achieve the same results as heretofore but, by a novel cooperative relationship of the valve with other components of the washing machines, to decrease the cost thereof substantially.

A further more specific object of my invention is to achieve this goal While still providing the air gap required by virtually all plumbing codes.

Another specific object of my invention, in one embodiment thereof, is to provide a novel cooperative relationship of a valve and other parts of a washing machine so as to provide not only an air gap, but also a liquid trap for preventing suds from the machine from reaching the valve outlet.

Still another specific object of my invention is to provide a valve having a particular configuration which causes it to provide improved results when secured within a washing machine in proper relation to the other components thereof.

In carrying out my invention in one form thereof, I provide a clothes washing machine which, in the usual way, has a liquid receptacle or tub for containing the liquid in which clothes are to be washed, the tub having an opening formed in the top thereof. Secured over the receptacle is a mixing valve assembly for mixing hot and cold water and provided with inlet openings formed for connection to sources of hot and cold water. The outlet of the valve is arranged in spaced relation over the tub opening to discharge thereinto through an air gap. Between the valve outletand the tub, means are provided so as to catch water which comes from the outlet but fails to pass down into the tub, and to guide this errant water back into the tub.

Preferably, the means intermediate the valve outlet and the tub is formed as an annular cover member having its outer edge secured about the upper rim of the tub and having an inner edge defining an access opening to'the tub.

When such a member is provided, I may provide, in one embodiment of my invention, a receptacle of U-shaped cross-section formed in the cover member at a predetermined location thereon; I then provide the liquid inlet opening to the tub adjacent the U-shaped receptacle.

With this construction, the mixing valve may have a housing formed with a divider section extending down into the receptacle in spaced relation to the bottom thereof and substantially across the length thereof, thereby dividing the receptacle into first and second sides. The valve outlet discharges down into the first side of the receptacle. The valve housing is then formed with a concave guide 3,176,484 Patented Apr. 6, 1965 out portion on its outer surface so as to guide water spoutingup from the second side of the U-shaped receptacle downwardly again so that it passes through the liquid inlet opening into the tub.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the'coneluding portion of this specification. My invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof," may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. I

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a clothes washing machine including my invention, the view being partly broken away and partly in section to illustrate details;

FIGURE, 2is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a portion of the machine of FIGURE 1 illustrating my in: vention in greater detail;

FIGURE 3 is a view along line 3-3 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view illus within'an outer imperforate receptacle or tub 4. Tub 4 serves as a liquid receptacle, the basket and tub together. serving, in effect, as container means for the clothes and the liquid in which they are to be washed and rinsed.

Basket 2 may be provided with a suitableclothes retainingv member 5 for preventing clothes from being floated over:

the top of the basket and with a balance ring 6 to help steady the basket when it is rotated at high speed.

Tub 4 is rigidly mounted within an appearance cabinet 7' which includes a cover 8 hingedly mounted in the re-v movable top-portion 9 of the cabinet for providing access to an opening 10 to the basket 2. The rigid mounting of tub 4 within cabinet 7 may be effected by any suitable means. As a particular example of one such means, I provide strap members 11, each of which is secured at one end to an inturned flange 12 of the cabinet and at its otherv end to the outside of tub 4. At the center of basket 2 there is positioned a vertical axis agitator 13 which includes a center post 14 and a plurality of curved water circulating vanes 15 joined at their lower ends by anoutwardly flared skirt 16.

Both the clothes basket 2 and the agitator 13 are rotatably mounted. The basket is mounted on a flange 17 of a rotatable hub 1-8, andthe agitator 1 3' is mounted on a shaft (not shown) which extends upwardly through the hub 18 and through the center post 14 and is secured to the agitator so as to drive it. 7

During a typical cycle of operation of machine 1, wateris introduced into tub 4 and basket 2, and agitator 13 is then oscillated back and forth on its axis, that is, in' a horizontal plane within the basket. This causes washing of the clothes by effectingrelative motion of the clothes and the liquid, as well as suitable flexing of the fabric of the clothes.- Then, after apredetermined period of this washing action, basket 2 is rotated at high speed to extract centrifugally the washing liquid from the clothes and discharge it to drain. Following this extraction. operation, clean water is introduced into the basket for rinsing the clothes and the agitator is again oscillated. Finally, the basket is once more rotated at high speed, to extract the rinse water.

Basket 2 and agitator 13 may be driven through any.

suitable means. By way of example, Ihave shown them as driven from a reversing motor 19 through a drive inthe stationary structure.

cluding a clutch mounted on the motor shaft. The clutch allows the motor to start without a load and then accept the load as it comes up to speed. A suitable belt 21 transmits power to a transmission assembly. 22 through a pulley 23. Thus, depending upon the direction of motor rotation, pulley 23 of transmission 22 is driven in opposite directions.

Transmission 22 is so arranged that it supports and drives both the agitator drive shaft and basket mounting hub 18. When motor 19 is rotated in one direction, the transmission causes agitator 13 to oscillate in a substantially horizontal plane within basket 2. Conversely, when motor 19. is driven in the opposite direction the transmission rotates wash basket 2 and agitator 13 together at high speed for centrifugal liquid extraction. While the specific type of transmission mechanism used does not form part of my invention, reference is made to Patent 2,844, 225 issued to James R. Hubbard et al. on July 22, 1958 and owned by the General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention. That patent discloses in detail the structural characteristics of a transmission suitable.

for use in the illustrated machine.

In addition to operating transmission 22 as described, motor 19 also provides a direct drive through a flexible coupling 24 to a pump structure, generally indicated at 25, which may include two separate pump units 26 and 27 both operated simultaneously in the same direction by motor 19. Pump 26 has an inlet which is connected by a conduit 28 to an opening 29 formed at the lowermost point of tub 4. Pump 26 also has an outlet which is connected by a conduit 30 to a suitable drain ,(not shown).

Pump 27 has an inlet connected by a conduit 31 to the interior of tub 4 and an outlet connected by a conduit 32 to a nozzle 33. The pumps are formed so that in the spin direction of motor rotation the pump 26 will draw in liquid from opening 29 through conduit 23 and discharge it through conduit 30 to drain, and in the other direction of rotation pump 27 will draw in liquid through conduit 31 and discharge it through conduit 32 and nozzle 33, each of the pumps being substantially inoperative in the direction of rotation in which it is not used.

Nozzle 33 is positioned for discharge into a filter pan 34 secured on the top portion 35 of agitator 13 so as to be movable therewith. With this structure then, when the motor is rotating so as to provide agitation, pump 27 draws liquid through conduit 31 from tub 4 and discharges it through conduit 32 so that the liquid passes from nozzle 33 into filter pan 34 and then down through a number of small openings 36 provided in the bottom of the filter pan and back into basket 2. In this manner, the filter pan 34 with its small openings 36 and its upstanding side wall 37' causes lint which is separated from the clothes during the washing operation to be filtered out of the clothes and thus prevents it from being redeposited on the clothes. This type of structure is more fully described and claimed in Patent 2,481,979 issued to Russell .H. Colley on September 13, 1949 and assigned to General Electric Company, owner of the present invention.

The motor 19, clutch 20, transmission 22, basket 2 and agitator 13 form a suspended washing and centrifuging system which is supported by the stationary structure of the machine so as to permit isolation of vibrations from It will be understood that such vibrations occur primarily as a result of high speed spinning of basket 2 with a load'of clothes therein as mentioned above. While any suitable suspension structure may be used, one suitable structure includes a bracket member 38 with transmission 22 mounted thereon and motor 19 mounted to the underside thereof. The bracket member in turn is secured to upwardly extending rigid members 39,- and each of the two upwardly extending members 39 is connected to a cable .40 supported from the top of the machine. While only a portion of the suspension system is shown in FIGURE 1, such a vibration isolation system is fully described and claimed in Patent 2,987,190 issued on June 6, 1961 to John Bochan and assigned to General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention.

In order to accommodate the movement which occurs between basket 2 and tub 4 without any danger of leakage between them, the stationary tub 4 is joined to the upper part of transmission 22 by a flexible boot member 41. Boot 41 may be of any suitable configuration, many of which are known in the art, to permit relative motion of the parts to which it is joined without leakage therebetween.

The level to which water rises in basket 2 and tub 4 may be controlled by any suitable liquid level sensing means. One typical arrangement for doing this is to provide an opening 42 in the side of tub 4 adjacent the bottom thereof. Opening 42 is connected through a conduit 43 and a tube 44 to a conventional pressure sensitive switch (not shown) which may be positioned in thebacksplasher 45 of machine 1. In theconventional manner, as the water rises in basket 2 and tub 4 it exerts increasing pressure on the column of air'trapped in tube 44 and at a predetermined pressure level the column of air then operates the pressure sensitive switch to shut off the water inlet valve which forms part of my invention and is described herebelow. Backsplasher 45 may have suitable manual controls such as that shown at 46. Controls 46 are used to control, for instance, washing and spin speeds, water temperature, water level within tub 4 and basket 2, etc., for the washing of different types of fabrics.

Secured to the top of tub 4 is an annular cover member 47 which has its outer edge 43 sealed to the rim 49 of tub 4 by any suitable means such as, for instance, a rubber gasket 50. The inner edge 51 of cover member 47 is aligned with the opening It so as to cooperate in the forming of the access opening to the interior of basket 2. The gap between edge 51 and opening it) is preferably held to a minimum to prevent the escape of suds or splashing water. Cover 47 is preferably a molded plastic memher, and has formed thereon a pair of spaced parallel walls 52 and 53. Walls 52 and 53 are respectively provided with a pair of recesses 54 and 55, recess 54 being visible in dotted outline in FIGURE 3. These recesses form a cradle for receiving portions 56 and 57 of a mixing valve assembly generally indicated by the numeral 58. Thus, the assembly 58 is seated in the cradle formed by recesses 54 and of walls 52 and 53, the cradle preventi112 all motion of the valve except upwardly.

Continuing with the description of cover 47, a raised wall 59 joins the two walls 52 and 53 at their inner ends, wall 59 forming in eifect part of the inner edge of cover 47. Wall 59 cooperates with a'second raised wall 60 (which, however, does not extend up as far as wall 59) so as to' form with the walls 52 and 53 a liquid receptacle 61 having a smooth U or L-shaped cross-section, as shown in FIGURE 3, the U extending substantially radially outward from the access opening. Directly outside wall 64) there is provided a liquid inlet opening 62 which, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, preferably also is limited at its ends by walls 52 and 53. From inlet. opening 62, the cover 47 slopes downwardly toward its outer edge to form a well, with an opening 63 being provided at the lowest point of the well in cover 47. It will be noted that the opening 63 is positioned over'tub 4 so that liquid passing therethrough also goes into the tub, as well as the liquid which passes through opening 62.

Valve 58 incorporates a molded valve body, generally indicated by the numeral 64, which may, as shown, he formed in two parts if so desired to facilitate the molding operation. The portions 56 and 57 of valve assembly 58 are secured in the molded valve body and have secured to them respectively solenoid assemblies 65 and 66. As

shown, the solenoid assemblies may have suitable ter-' minals, shown at 67 in connection with solenoid 65, so that they may be energized at an appropriate time.

The par s 56 and 57 are nested within recesses 54 and 55, as previously explained. In addition, one or more -forrned pieces ofre'silie'nt material-68, each having a lower surface69 formed so as to match the configuration of the outside of the valve housing and having a flat top surface 70, is positioned on the valve assembly 58 when it is cradled on the walls in the recesses 54 and 55. Then, when the top part 9 of the'washing machine is secured in position, as shown in FIGURE 3, it presses down on the flat surface 70 of member 68, and through the member 68secures the entire valve assemblySS in position.

"will be observed that this permits a virtually instantaneous disassembly of the parts upon'removal of-top surface 9, thereby greatly facilitating servising thereof.

Returning now to'the structure of the valve assembly itself, apair of water inlets 71 and 72 are provided which "are intended to be connected directly through suitable a small bleed hole 74a.

normally the diaphragm is maintained in closing position by plunger member 78 of solenoid 66, the plunger member being biased by any suitable spring means (not shown) to the position shown wherein it closes 01f an opening 79 inthe center of diaphragm 74 within the solenoid assembly.

This type of pilot valve arrangement is well known to those in the art and is disclosed only for purposes of a complete disclosure of an operative structure. It will be understood that when solenoid 66 is energized, liquid can pass from'inlet 72 through passage 73 to passage 7s, and when the solenoid is de-energized flow of liquid is stopped by'the diaphragm 74 returning to the position shown. A

similar arrangement controls the-passage of Water from inlet 71 into the mixing chamber 77. In brief, when either or both of'the solenoids 65 and 66 are energized, water enters mixing chamber 77 and then passes through passage 80 to the outlet 81 of the valve formed by the molded housing. Outlet 81 is preferably provided as a long narrow rectangle formed by narrowly spaced walls "81a and 81b"as'sl1'own. "It will be observed that in the normal assembled'position of the valve, outlet 81 opens downwardly facing into the receptacle 61, and is actually, positioned below the top of Wall 59.

The molded valve housing 64 is formed with a divider,

section 82 which, in effect, is an extension of wall 81b. Divider section 82 extends down into the receptacle 61 below the tops of the U-shaped legs 59 and 60 so as to divide the U-shaped receptacle into two sides 83 and 84. The divider section 82 does not reach to the bottom of the receptacle, so that there is adequate space for the flow of liquid between the bottom of divider section 82 and the bottom of the receptacle.

Divider section 82, as shown in FIGURE 2, preferably extends substantially the full length of receptacle 61, that is, between walls 52 and 53. As a result of this, there is a pathway formed for liquid passing from outlet 81 which requires that the water pass first down one side of receptacle 61 between Wall 59 and the divider section 82, and then be turned up from the bottom and spout upwardly therefrom between wall 60 and the divider section 82. In this connection, the bottom of the U-shaped receptacle 61 is preferably smoothly curved in order to smooth the flow as much as possible.

The water spouting up from the receptacle on the second side 84 is then guided by a concavely curved guide portion formed on the exterior of housing 64 on the side of outlet 81 which is toward wall 81b and away from wall 81a. This concave curved portion terminates, in the preferred embodiment shown, in a member 86 which extends downwardly a short way through the opening 62.

As a result, the liquid 'is caused to flow smoothly around the concave configurationof part ofhousing 64, and

' downwardlythrough opening 52 into the tub 4 as desired. 'It' will be observed'that cover 47 cooperateswith the valve and the'positioning thereof toprovide' an air gap as required. This results 'fr'orn'the fact that, with the configuration shown, liquid willnot be able to rise up so as to be siphoned into the supply system should there exista suction at outlet-'sl'of the valve instead of the usual conditions whereby water is emitted under pressure.

In addition to' this 'airgap for preventing the siphoning of vitiated water back'into the supply system, the structure shown virtually insures that if suds overflow from the tub 4 they cannot be drawn into the supply system structures of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3, an arrangement whereby' an effective'air gap is provided which precludes not only water from being drawn back into the supply system,

-=but also the suds which present a much more commonly occurring difliculty.

Itis'to be observed that the opening 63 is positioned at the lowest point of cover-47, and that therefore any liquid which happens to splash from outlet 81 or from side84 of container'l and not go down through'opening 62 will drain down thesloping cover 47 to opening 63 and also pass into the tub 4.

Thus, in summary, a water inlet system is provided which permits the valve 'to be easily and quickly disconnected for convenient servicing. In addition, the novel placement of the valve andits novel relationship to the other parts of the 'machinepermit the valve outlet to form an air gap in cooperation with the tub cover of the machine, and in addition to provide a Water trap for preventing the passage of suds into the valve.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 and 5 of the drawings,

there is shown a second embodiment of my invention 'wh'erein, for like parts, like numerals are used. The valve assembly 58 in this case is formed with a pair of parallel side walls 87-and 88 held to portions 39a of the molded housing '90. Walls87 and 88 include, respectively, flanges 90a and'90b secured to cover'member 47 by threaded members 900.

The valve member incorporates, as before, a pair of solenoids 65 and 66, and as can be seen in connection with solenoid 66 the manner in which the flow of inlet water is controlled is the same as before. Solenoid energization permits passage of inlet water into a mixing chamber generally indicated by the numeral 91, and from there the liquid flows downwardly through a molded outlet 92. Outlet 92 is preferably a long narrow outlet, as was also true of outlet 31 in the first embodiment. In this case, as an added part of my inventive concept I provide a molded lattice-work arrangement 92. This type of outlet structure has the known efiect of straightening the flow out and causing it to spread less as it issues from the outlet. This is a desirable result, achieved in this case by a structure molded in with the remainder of the valve.

The desirability arises from the fact that, as shown in FIGURE 5, from outlet 92 the liquid stream passes directly downwardly through an air gap and then through an opening 94 formed in the cover 47. Any liquid which splashes away from opening 4 flows down the surface of cover 47 to opening 63 as before, and then passes th ough that opening to the tub 4. It will be seen that the positioning of the valve directly over the tub and basket together with the cooperative relationship of cover 47, permits an air gap to be provided while at the same time the valve is shielded from undesirable access by an operator when the machineis assembled.

The positioning of the valve assembly in the second embodiment, the provision of the air gap, and the return of errant water back into the tub are made possible by the provision of the cover 47 and the special cooperative relationship it is caused to have, with the valve assembly. While in accordance with the patent statutes I have described what at present are considered to be the preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various'changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention, and I therefore aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall Within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A clothes washing machine comprising:

(a) an open top tub for containing liquid in which clothes are to be washed;

(b) an annular cover member having an outer edge secured about the rim of said tub and having an inner edge defining an access opening;

(c) a mixing valve for mixing hot and cold water having inlet openings formed for connection to sources of hot and cold water and having an outlet arranged in spaced relation over said tub to discharge there.

into through an air gap;

(d) means on the top surface of said cover member for receiving said valve and preventing movement thereof except upwardly;

(e) and a cabinet enclosing said receptacle and said valve and including a removable top portion extending horizontally above said valve, said top portion being arranged to press said valve down into said receiving means when said top portion is assembled to the remainder of said cabinet.

2. A clothes washing machine comprising:

(a) an'open top tub for containing liquid in which clothes are to be washed;

(1;) an annular cover member having an outer edge secured about the rim of said tub'and having an inner edge defining an access opening, said cover member having a receptacle of U-shaped cross section formed at a predetermined location thereon and 'having an inlet opening formed therein adjacent said receptacle;

(c) and a mixing valve for mixing hot and cold water secured over said cover'member, said valve having a housing formed with a divider section extending down into said receptacle in spaced relation to the bottom thereof and substantially across the length thereof so as to divide said receptacle into first and second sides, said valve havingan outlet positioned to discharge down into said first side of said receptacle, said housing further having an outer surface guide portion formed to guide Water spouting up from said second side of said receptacle downwardly again through said inlet opening into said tub. V

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein said receptacle is formed adjacent the inner edge of said cover member, said receptacle being positioned so that the U- shape thereof extends substantially radially, said receptacle further being formed so that the inner leg of said U extends up higher than the outer leg ofsaid U.

4. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein said cover slants downwardly toward its outer edge from said inlet opening and forms a well adjacent the outer edge, said cover member having an additional opening formed at the bottom of said Well over said tub.

5. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein the inner surface of said receptacle is formed with a smoothly curved contour.

6. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein said outer surface guide portion includes a part extending down through said inlet opening to minimize the amount of water which fails to pass through said inlet opening.

7. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein said guide portion comprises a concavely curved surface.

8. The apparatus defined in claim 2 wherein said outlot is formed by a pair of narrowly spaced relatively wide walls, said divider section being formed as an extension of the one of said walls which is closer to said outer surface guide portion.

References (Iited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS WALTER A. SCHEEL, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM 1. PRICE, Examiner. 

1. A CLOTHES WASHING MACHINE COMPRISING: (A) AN OPEN TOP TUB FOR CONTAINING LIQUID IN WHICH CLOTHES ARE TO BE WASHED; (B) AN ANNULAR COVER MEMBER HAVING AN OUTER EDGE SECURED ABOUT THE RIM OF SAID TUB AND HAVING AN INNER EDGE DEFINING AN ACCESS OPENING; (C) A MIXING VALVE FOR MIXING HOT AND COLD WATER HAVING INLET OPENINGS FORMED FOR CONNECTION TO SOURCES OF HOT AND COLD WATER AND HAVING AN OUTLET ARRANGED IN SPACED RELATION OVER SAID TUB TO DISCHARGE THEREINTO THROUGH AN AIR GAP; (D) MEANS ON THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID COVER MEMBER FOR RECEIVING SAID VALVE AND PREVENTING MOVEMENT THEREOF EXCEPT UPWARDLY; 